“Yes.”
“On what do you base your opinion?”
“When he left our house, Louis Lacombe carried a satchel containing all the papers relating to his invention. Two days later, my husband, in a conversation with one of the Varin brothers, learned that the papers were in their possession.”
“And he did not denounce them?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because there was something else in the satchel—something besides the papers of Louis Lacombe.”
“What was it?”
She hesitated; was on the point of speaking, but, finally, remained silent. Daspry continued:
“I presume that is why your husband has kept a close watch over their movements instead of informing the police. He hoped to recover the papers and, at the same time, that compromising article which has enabled the two brothers to hold over him threats of exposure and blackmail.”